Anadarko Petroleum Corp Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (APC)

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B-

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B- . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, good cash flow from operations, expanding profit margins, impressive record of earnings per share growth and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income increased by 156.7% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$358.00 million to $203.00 million.

Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 206.37% to $2,220.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 21.80%.

The gross profit margin for ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP is rather high; currently it is at 65.50%. It has increased significantly from the same period last year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 5.94% trails the industry average.

ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. However, we anticipate underperformance relative to this pattern in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP turned its bottom line around by earning $4.74 versus -$5.33 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 12.8% in earnings ($4.14 versus $4.74).

APC, with its decline in revenue, slightly underperformed the industry average of 2.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 3.6%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of natural gas, crude oil, condensate, and natural gas liquids(NGLs) in the United States, Algeria, and internationally. Anadarko has a market cap of $40.15 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and energy industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 16.9, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 7.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.